This invention relates generally to a mask. In particular, the present invention relates to a boating helmet.
Fishing and speed boating popularity are on the rise today, with more people than ever spending time on lakes and rivers. This increasingly crowded arena, combined with the higher speeds of modern boats, raise the specter of accidents. New and better safety equipment is always in demand to enhance the enjoyment of the sport.
Coastal lifejackets, sheltered waters lifejackets, and buoyancy-vests are examples of well-accepted boating safety equipment. These devices are generally effective for their purpose of keeping their user above the water's surface once he has been immersed, and are sometimes effective in warding off hypothermia. Nevertheless, an additional safety device is needed to help prevent immersion. By helping control the user's body temperature and providing him with unclouded vision, many accidents that would have resulted in the user being immersed can be prevented. Further, his comfort and pleasure will be enhanced.
Venting is often a problem in helmets. The human body produces water as a byproduct of metabolizing food, and it gets rid of much of this moisture by exhaling it. When that moisture-laden air contacts a cold surface, the moisture drops out as fog and condensation. Without proper venting, it quickly becomes impossible to see out of a helmet in cold weather.
Various proposals for diverting this moisture-laden air are found in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,246 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,146 disclose devices that deflect a user's breath to reduce condensation on his glasses or shield. Neither provides a temperature-controlled climate for the user, however.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,746, U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,510, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,566 disclose helmets with air passages provided adjacent the shields inside the helmets, but they do not separate the shield areas from a user's exhalation. They also fail to utilize the user's exhalation to warm his cheeks and ears.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,671 discloses a mask using a physical barrier to separate a user's eyes and the mask's vision area from the moisture of his breath. While an adjustable air entrance is included, there are no means for controlling airflow once it is inside the mask. Further, airflow is not provided for defogging the mask's vision area.
While assumably effective for their intended purposes, none of the above proposals provide a boating helmet that helps control a user's body temperature and that provides him with unclouded vision. Many considerations special to boating are simply absent from the prior art. Therefore, it is desirable to have a boating helmet that is comfortable and climate-controlled, provides a shield free of condensation, diverts water that may enter through ventilation holes, protects against impact, protects against precipitation and impact with bugs, protects against hearing loss, floats in water, and is stylish.